Illusion display apparatus

ABSTRACT

The display apparatus includes two adjacent rooms with a partition therebetween having an opening therethrough over which an aquarium is mounted in the display room. An object is located on a pedestal in the other room and is lighted to reflect the light through a lens of spherical sectors having liquid filled cavities to reduce and focus the image of the object in the water of the aquarium giving the object the illusion of being smaller than it is and located in the tank when it is not. Motors are provided to selectively move the pedestal and the aquarium to give the object the appearance of moving through the water or of being in the water as the aquarium is moved.

[151 3,655,272 1451 Apr. l1, 1972 United States Patent Valadez [541 ILLUSION DISPLAY APPARATUS 1,742,680 1/1930 Amgue. .......352/49 [72] Inventor: Carlos Valadez, 12800 Moor Park Street, 2540953 2/1951 Kesslerjr' ""350/231 North Hollywood, Calif. 91604 Mar. 25, 1970 Primary Examiner-David Schonberg Assistant Examiner-Michael J. Tokar [22] Filed:

Attorney-Miketta, Glenny, Poms and Smith [2l] Appl. No.:

ABSTRACT doP n.m amm mm m f dou. e a Pe CCM mnt Bmw ver r Onre u mpt g aa .l 1v1, w F. eme g .wth .n ttt m CC ee.m a d;J r sban.. D 00.1 5 teu Qu, mths?. m ,.meO .w r l mmao C r. r. 9 P06 elm mmw Sue rmmm Ouh. Mmwew V memo n.h...mm mmvw mme mn aman.v WvmOCg .nulmvmu aeheo GNEDD 32948 44564 99999 lllll 29929 0004006 54118 .lan/wlvjooy 27219 19064 ...wn/.tOwJA 22232 Patented April 11, 1972 3,655,272

IN VEA/roe 922.05 727/. @DEZ 22222, y 2,2 www TToeNEs/S.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Aquariums many times may be used to provide attractive and interesting display settings to stimulate customer interest. Such a setting is sometimes used to display objects or articles by placing them in the aquarium. However, either the displayed objects must be immune to water or the objects must be enclosed in a watertight container before being placed in the aquarium.

Usually, the watertight container dwarfs the object sought to be displayed and therefore its use is very detrimental to the purpose ofthe display. Also, the container makes it hard to change objects and impossible to display objects which are in actual size, larger than the aquarium or fish bowl which is to be displayed. This would be especially true of modeling swim wear where the aquarium setting is desirable but where the model is larger than all but the largest aquariums and would have breathing problems as well as many make-up and hair problems if actually submerged in the aquarium.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore it is the primary purpose of this invention to provide a display apparatus which gives an object the appearance of being smaller than it is and being located within a liquid filled container while the object is actually outside the container.

Other and additional purposes are to provide a display apparatus whichwill display objects in an aquarium setting without the objectgetting wet to spoil the dry appearance thereof, to provide a display apparatus which will display objects in an aquarium setting which are actually too large to be located in the aquarium setting, which are actually too large to be located in the aquarium itself, to provide a display apparatus having a liquid filled container located adjacent an opening in a partition and an object located on the other side of the partition with an optical means which focuses the image of the object into the liquid in the container, to provide such an apparatus with the optical means including a mirror to reflect light from the object through the opening, to provide such apparatus with an optical means including a lens of liquid filled spherical sectors to reduce the image size and focus the image in the liquid, to provide such an apparatus with such a lens which can be moved to give the image thereof the appearance of moving through the liquid, and to provide such apparatus where the container and the object are rotated at the same speed to create the illusion of the object being in the rotating container and rotating with it.

Generally, the illusion display apparatus according to this invention for giving the object the appearance of being located within the liquid of a liquid filled container while the object is actually outside the container includes a display room and an object room with a partition therebetween and with an opening through the partition adjacent which the container is located in the display room, means for directing light on the object in the object area to be reflected thereby and optical means for receiving the reflected light and focusing the light into the liquid in the container to provide an image therein. The preferred optical means includes a large diameter lens and may also include a mirror for reflecting an image to the lens. The preferred lens is made of liquid filled spherical sectors which reduces the size of the image and focuses the image within the aquarium. Means may be provided for moving the object or moving both the object and container in unison. Means may also be provided to blur the image created in the liquid during changing of the objects.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention in an illusion display apparatus, as well as a better understanding thereof will be afforded to those skilled in the art from a consideration of the following detailed description of preferred and alternative exemplary embodiments thereof. Reference will be made to the appended sheet of drawings.

FIG. l is a perspective view of the display system according to this invention for giving an object the appearance of being reduced in size and being located in the liquid filled container;

FIG. 2 is a plane view of the display system of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the display system of FIG. 2 taken therein along the plane III-III;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of an alternative embodiment ofthe display system according to this invention; and

FIG. 5 is a detail view of a portion of the display device of FIG. 4.

A detailed explanation of a preferred and alternative exemplary embodiment of the illusion display apparatus of the present invention will now be made. Referring first to FIG. l, a perspective view of the illustion display apparatus is indicated generally at 10. In the preferred embodiment, the object room 1l is positioned generally parallel to and behind the display room l2, the two rooms being divided by a partition wall 13. The object room 1l is preferably provided with a black or dark colored interior surface 14 such that no visibly observable image is reflected thereby to interfere with the illusion to be created by the within apparatus.

An object, such as a human model indicated generally at 15, is positioned within the object room adjacent one end thereof while a large mirror 16 is positioned diagonally across a corner 17 at the opposite end of the room 11. Mirror 16, in the preferred exemplary embodiment, is positioned at a right angle to the location of object 15 in order to reflect the image of object 15 directly toward partition wall 13.

The object, such as the human model indicated generally at 15 in the preferred exemplary embodiment, may either be standing on the floor of room l1 or, preferably, located upon a pedestal or table 18 as seen in FIG. l. Pedestal or table 18 is preferably painted black so as not to reflect a visible image toward mirror 16, the table blending into the black surfaced rear wall 19 of room 11. Floodlights 20 and 21 are provided within the object room 11 for illuminating the object to increase the intensity of the image to be reflected by mirror 16.

An aquarium or container 22 is provided within display room 12 where it can be observed by persons either standing or sitting in display room 12 generally in front of the front face 23 of the container. The illusion created by the within ap paratus is best observed by the person standing directly in front of the aquarium front face 23, the person looking into the water and the associated optical means to be described in detail hereinafter. Container 22 is therefore made of a transparent material, such as glass or plastic, so that the image of object 15 can be optically produced within the liquid of the container, the viewer actually looking through the glass and liquid into the optical means as hereinafter described.

An opening or port 25 is provided in the partition wall 13 between the object and display rooms. As best seen in FIG. 3, the aquarium or container 22 is positioned to cover or overlay the opening 25 so that it is necessary for the viewer in the display room 12 to look through the aquarium in order to see through the opening 25 into the object room. In preferred exemplary embodiment, the container or aquarium 22 is mounted in the partition wall for simplicity of construction, it being understood that the aquarium could be mounted on a table or counter in the display room and be positioned immediately in front of the opening 25 to overlie the same as herein described. From the foregoing, it can be seen that the image of object 15, illuminated by the floodlights 20 and 2l, would be reflected by mirror 16 through opening 25 in the partition wall so that it would be visible to observers looking through the aquarium 22. However, as particularly contemplated within the present invention, an illusion is created by the within apparatus such that the viewer perceives an image of reduced size which appears to be actually within the liquid in container 22.

As particularly contemplated within the present invention, large diameter lens means are provided optically between the object, indicated generally at 15, and the aquarium 22. Such lens means constitute a part of the optical means in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1, which also includes the mirror 16. However, as will be explained in the following detailed description of the alternative exemplary embodiment of FIG. 4, the mirror 16 in some cases may be dispensed with and the optical means comprise only a lens means as herein described. The preferred embodiment of lens means, according to the present invention, is indicated generally at 26 and is shown mounted by a pair of cantilever arm supports 27 and 28 extending outwardly from the partition wall 13 to position the lens means in axial alignment with the aquarium 22.

The exemplary lens means, indicated generally at 26, preferably comprises two plano-convex lenses 29 and 30 which are approximately 3 feet in diameter. The focal length of each lens is approximately equal to the diameter thereof. Each lens 29, 30 is constructed of a clear plexiglass plate 31, 32, respectively, and matching dome 33, 34, respectively. In

an actual embodiment of the present invention, the lensesl were made of a plexiglass G" acrylic material 1/2 inch thick. The plates 31 and 32 were provided with an approximate 37 inch diameter. Each dome 33 and 34 was provided with a slightly smaller, 36 inch, diameter formed to a 22 inch radius. The dome height was I9 3A inches. Each dome 33 and 34 is ce-l mented to the associated disk, 31 and 32 respectively and filled with a mineral oil, such as currently available under the "Kaydol" name. However, any clear mineral oil is considered suitable. The hollow dome lenses are then mounted in a cylindrical housing or casing 26 with the domes in opposing and adjacent relationship, the plates 31 and 32 in spaced parallel relation and in axial alignment. To facilitate filling the hollow dome lenses 29 and 30, it was found advantageous to provide a vane hole as well as a filling hole, in each lens, which were sealed after filling of the lenses with oil.

The preferred form of lens described hereinbefore is particularly suitable for use in the present illustion display apparatus in order to provide relatively large diameter lens means for use with a 3 or 4 foot size aquarium. It has been found that the exemplary lenses reduce the size of a human model acting as the object by approximately eight to l0 times their normal size. By positioning the lens center approximately 3 feet from the aquarium center and in axial alignment therewith as seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the reflected image of ob ject 15 appears to be reduced about eight to l0 times in size and to be actually physically in the liquid within aquarium 22 when viewed by an observer standing in the display room 12 who looks through the front face 23 of the aquarium and into the lens means directly therebehind. It has been found through actual practice that an exceptionally real life-like image is produced within the liquid 24 in the container 22 by the apparatus of the present invention leading observers to believe, contrary to normal realities, that a miniaturized object is actually moving about within the liquid in the aquarium.

Referring now to the alternative exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5, it can be seen that the illusion display apparatus of the present invention may be modified from that of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 through 3 to provide a direct image transmission from the object, through the lens means and an associated aquarium or water-containing member without the use of a reflecting mirror 16. As seen in FIG. 4, the object room 111 is illustrated below a viewing room with the floor 113 of the viewing or display room 112 providing the partition between the two rooms. The interior surfaces of object room 111 again are preferably painted black so as not to create a visually observable image which can be seen through the optical means provided.

ln the alternative exemplary embodiment, a rotating pedestal or table 118, again painted black, is provided on a stand 118' provided on the floor of the object room. Means are provided for rotating the pedestal 118 and, in the alternative exemplary embodiment, include a gear wheel 140 mounted on the vertical pedestal portion 141 of table 118 and a motor drive means indicated generally at 142. Such drive means may include a worm drive gear 143 mounted on a gear reduction mechanism 144 which in turn is driven by an appropriate electric motor 145. Through proper selection of the gear and drive means 142, the table 118 can be adapted to be rotated at any given revolutions per minute. lt is contemplated within the present invention, that the associated aquarium, to be described hereinafter, is provided with means for rotating it in unison with said table 118 and at the same uniform revolutions per minute.

An alternative embodiment of aquarium 122 is shown mounted in partition wall 113 by an inner bearing member rotatably mounted by appropriate ball bearings 151 in known manner upon a stationary outer bearing race 152 secured to floor or partition 113 as best seen in FIG. 5. A lower integral portion of inner bearing race 150 is provided with an external gear 153 adapted to be driven by the wormtype drive gear 154. Gear 154 is driven by a gear reduction mechanism 155 which in turn is driven by a suitable electric motor 156. As stated hereinbefore, it is contemplated within the present invention that the motor 156 and associated gear reduction mechanism 155, drive gear 154 and external gear 153 are chosen and operated so as to rotate the aquarium 122 in the same direction and at the same speed as the table 118 so that when both motors 145 and 156 are operated, it will appear that the image produced within the aquarium is rotating in unison with the rotation of the aquarium. When preferred, only table 118 may be rotated to give a spinning effect to the object within the aquarium if such is desired. It is also contem plated that the object table 118 can be rotated fast enough to give a blurred image within the aquarium to facilitate removal and replacement of the object.

As seen in FIG. 4, the preferred exemplary form of lens, indicated generally at 26 described hereinbefore is provided between the object table 118 and aquarium 122 and in axial alignment with each. Lens means 26 may be so mounted by providing a mounting flange 160 and 161 to the lens outer case 126 and supporting the same by hanger rods or bolts 162 and 163 suspended from the floor or partition 113. Conventional nuts 164 and 165 are provided to hold flanges 160 and 161 to the rods 162 and 163 respectively.

Having thus described a preferred exemplary embodiment andan alternative exemplary embodiment of the illusion display apparatus in accordance with the present invention, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing detailed descriptions of two embodiments of the present invention are exemplary only and that other modifications, adaptations and embodiments thereof may be made within the scope of the present invention which is limited and defined only by the following claims.

lclaim:

1. A display apparatus for giving an object the appearance of being located within the liquid of a liquid filled transparent container while the object is actually outside the container, comprising:

a display room and an adjacent object room separated by a partition therebetween, said partition having an openingy therethrough between the rooms with the container being located in the display room over the opening and the object being located inthe object room;

means located in the object room for directing light onto the object to be reflected thereby; and

optical means for receiving the light reflected from the object for reducing the size of the object image for focusing this light through the opening in the partition and into the liquid in the container to provide an image of the object in the container.

2. The display as in claim 1 wherein the object is not visible directly through the opening and the optical means includes a mirror to reflect the light from the object through the opening.

3. The display system as in claim 1 wherein the optical means includes a lens.

4. The display system as in claim 3 wherein the lens is made of spherical part shells forming cavities filled with a transparent liquid and is approximately as large around as the container for said liquid.

5. The display apparatus as in claim 3 wherein the lens includes:

two transparent spherical part shells;

two transparent disks;

means securing each disk to a respective part shell to form a spherical sector with a cavity therein;

a transparent liquid filling each cavity olf the sectors; and

means for coaxially positioning the spherical sectors with the flat backsides thereof spaced apart and parallel said shells facing each other.

6. The display apparatus as in claim 3 wherein the optical means includes a large diameter lens of about three to 4 feet in diameter, has a focal length approximately equal to its diameter and is positioned toplace the center of the lens a distance from the center of the container approximately equal to the value of said focal length.

7. The display apparatus as in claim l wherein the object is located on a pedestal in the object room and means are provided for moving the pedestal to give the object the appearance of moving through the liquid.

8. The display apparatus as in claim l wherein the object is located on a pedestal and the container is rotatably mounted over the opening, and means are provided to rotate the container and the pedestal at substantially the same speed to retain the appearance of the object being located in the container.

9. The display apparatus as in claim 1 wherein means are provided to move the optical means for temporarily blurring the image of the object on the liquid to facilitate the changing of objects. 

1. A display apparatus for giving an object the appearance of being located within the liquid of a liquid filled transparent container while the object is actually outside the container, comprising: a display room and an adjacent object room separated by a partition therebetween, said partition having an opening therethrough between the rooms with the container being located in the display room over the opening and the object being located in the object room; means located in the object room for directing light onto the object to be reflected thereby; and optical means for receiving the light reflected from the object for reducing the size of the object image for focusing this light through the opening in the partition and into the liquid in the container to provide an image of the object in the container.
 2. The display as in claim 1 wherein the object is not visible directly through the opening and the optical means includes a mirror to reflect the light from the object through the opening.
 3. The display system as in claim 1 wherein the optical means includes a lens.
 4. The display system as in claim 3 wherein the lens is made of spherical part shells forming cavities filled with a transparent liquid and is approximately as large around as the container for said liquid.
 5. The display apparatus as in claim 3 wherein the lens includes: two transparent spherical part shells; two transparent disks; means securing each disk to a respective part shell to form a spherical sector with a cavity therein; a transparent liquid filling each cavity of the sectors; and means for coaxially positioning the spherical sectors with the flat backsides thereof spaced apart and parallel said shells facing each other.
 6. The display apparatus as in claim 3 wherein the optical means includes a large diameter lens of about three to 4 feet in diameter, has a focal length approximately equal to its diameter and is positioned to place the center of the lens a distance from the center of the container approximately equal to the value of said focal length.
 7. The display apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the object is located on a pedestal in the object room and means are provided for moving the pedestal to give the object the appearance of moving through the liquid.
 8. The display apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the object is located on a pedestal and the container is rotatably mounted over the opening, and means are provided to rotate the container and the pedestal at substantially the same speed to retain the appearance of the object being located in the container.
 9. The display apparatus as in claim 1 wherein means are provided to move the optical means for temporarily blurring the image of the object on the liquid to facilitate the changing of objects. 